Explore the neuroscience behind the connection between rhythm and brain health.
Move is the Motor Element that controls movement, coordination, balance and timing. It allows us to move smoothly and with confidence. In neuroscience this is referred to as Motor Function.
Healthy motor function supports independence, physical confidence and injury prevention. Changes in motor control can affect everything from walking to fine hand movements.
The research below shows how drumming trains the body to move in time with a steady beat. Playing rhythms improves coordination between hands and feet, reinforces timing, and supports smoother, more controlled movement.
Motor Control
This study found that drummers’ brains are physically and functionally different from non-drummers. The two sides of their brain communicate more efficiently, their movement areas work with less effort, and the brain chemicals involved in controlling movement are more finely balanced.
Parkinson's
Rhythm is key to the treatment of Parkinson's. Drumming to a strong beat helps to retrain the brain by providing a rhythmic cue that people can use to initiate and time their movements.
Stroke
Stroke patients that took part in drumming sessions twice a week improved the function in their arms and hands, which helped them re-learn essential tasks like getting dressed.
Tourette's
Mu-band (8-14Hz) entrainment significantly reduces motor and vocal tics, as well as reducing the urge-to-tic in Tourette syndrome.
Think is the Cognitive Element that supports focus, attention, memory and planning. It’s how the brain processes information and makes sense of the world.
Strong cognitive function helps us stay mentally sharp, learn new skills and manage daily tasks. When cognition is under pressure, people may experience brain fog, poor concentration, or forgetfulness.
The research below shows how drumming challenges the brain to focus, remember patterns and stay in time. Keeping a beat and coordinating rhythms requires active thinking, which helps strengthen attention and mental flexibility over time.
Reading & Rhythm
In this study from 2024, digital rhythm training in the classroom improved reading fluency in 8-9 year old children. Improvements were positively correlated with enhanced rhythmic timing ability. A digital platform may be a convenient and cost-effective means to provide musical rhythm training, which in turn, can facilitate academic skills.
Autism & ADHD
Drumming teaches you when to play but also when to pause, which can be really helpful in controlling impulsive behaviour.
Drumming for 90 minutes a week has been found to reduce hyperactivity and inattention in autistic adolescents, it also strengthens functional connectivity in brain regions responsible for inhibitory control and action outcome monitoring.
Tourette's
Drumming has been found to help reduce the frequency and intensity of tics during periods of heightened stress or anxiety for individuals with Tourette syndrome.
Read the blog on Tourette's & drumming
Dementia
This recent study found that older adults who regularly listen to or play an instrument, like the drums, appear to have significantly lower risks (up to 40%) of dementia and cognitive decline. The data suggests that musical engagement, whether passive or active, could be a powerful, enjoyable tool for supporting cognitive resilience in aging.
This study found that drumming offered significant benefits in terms of improved cognition with verbal fluency and attention.
Plasticity/Grey Matter
Brain plasticity is the brain's ability to change and adapt throughout our lives, rewiring itself in response to new experiences, learning, and environmental changes. Regular drumming increases the number of neural connections in the brain, leading to enhanced plasticity.
Habits are a key element of our lifestyle and routines, how we start, maintain and repeat healthy behaviours over time.
Brain health depends on what we do consistently. Movement, learning, sleep and social engagement all rely on habits, not willpower alone.
The research examples below show how drumming and rhythm encourage routine, repetition and consistency, helping you build positive habits that support long-term brain health.
Addiction Recovery
The structured nature of drumming and beat patterns has been found to help alleviate physical and psychological tension through non verbal self-expression. As people take control of the drums, they actually take control of themselves.
Eating Disorders
Studies suggest that drumming can be a particularly effective distraction from eating disorder behaviours, especially in a group drumming workshop or a community setting.
Sleep is a core element of the brain’s daily reset. It’s when your body rests, your mind slows down, and your brain sorts, stores, and clears what it doesn’t need. Good sleep helps you think clearly, move well, manage emotions, and recharge yourself for the next day.
Maintaining healthy sleep is crucial for brain health. Research has identified that sleeping six hours or less in your 50s, 60s and 70s can lead to a 30% higher risk of dementia. Abnormal sleep durations have also been linked with an increased risk of stroke.
The research below shows how rhythm can help prepare the brain and body for better sleep. Because sleep starts long before your head hits the pillow. Rhythm helps slow the body, settle the mind and signal that it's time to rest. Simple drumming, rhythmic breathing and steady patterns can all help you unwind, making it easier to fall asleep and improve sleep quality.
Sleep & Music
Across multiple trials and meta-analyses, slow-tempo music (60-80 bpm), simple rhythms, and smooth melodies were associated with improved sleep efficiency.
Relaxation & Distraction
Musical rhythm can act as a relaxing, attention-capturing stimulus, easing cognitive arousal before sleep.
Sleep Quality
Music can reduce sympathetic nervous system activity, decrease anxiety, blood pressure, heart and respiratory rate and may have positive effects on sleep via muscle relaxation and distraction from thoughts.
Headache & Migraine
Drumming releases endorphins in the brain which are natural pain-relieving and mood enhancing chemicals that can help reduce headache symptoms. Drumming can also divert attention away from pain, providing a positive and engaging activity that can help reduce the frequency and intensity of headaches and migraines.
Connect is the Social Emotional Element that supports social connection, learning, motivation, mood and emotional regulation.
Emotional wellbeing plays a huge role in overall brain health. Feeling connected, confident and motivated supports learning, movement and long-term resilience.
The research below shows how drumming can lift mood, reduce stress and build confidence through simple, achievable steps. Rhythm is deeply social. Playing along with music, or with others, creates connection and shared experience.
Reading & Rhythm
In this study from 2024, digital rhythm training in the classroom improved reading fluency in 8-9 year old children. Improvements were positively correlated with enhanced rhythmic timing ability. A digital platform may be a convenient and cost-effective means to provide musical rhythm training, which in turn, can facilitate academic skills.
Addiction Recovery
The structured nature of drumming and beat patterns helps alleviate physical and psychological tension through non verbal self-expression. Taking control of the drums helps people take control of themselves.
Alzheimer's
This study found that group drumming offered significant benefits in terms of reduced anxiety and symptoms of depression.
Anger Management
Drumming is a non verbal way to express emotions without harming yourself or others.
Depression & Anxiety
Study by the Royal College of Music found that group drumming significantly improved depression, anxiety and social resilience compared with a non-music control group.
Menopause
Texas singer Sharleen Spiteri found that playing the drums helped her cope with the menopause. Bandmate Johnny McElhone suggested Sharleen drum in the video for their single 'After All' and their drummer,
Cat Myers, became her drum tutor.
Organisations like The Rockworks Academy in Wrexham offer community drumming for ladies, designed to encourage social bonding and shared experiences.
Watch Neuroscientist Lisa Mosconi's TEDx talk on How Menopause Affects The Brain and this impacts cognitive health. Sharing groundbreaking findings from her research, Lisa reveals how decreasing hormonal levels affect brain aging and shares simple lifestyle changes you can make to support lifelong brain health, around diet, exercise and sleep.
PTSD
Trauma can isolate and disconnect people from society. Drumming studies with soldiers have been found to increase a sense of openness, togetherness and sharing.